1983: Act 4: to be or not to be? (the Star Wars Initiative; brinkmanship)

Summary
In 1983 Reagan played "Russian roulette": his ultra-expensive "Star Wars Initiative" would either bankrupt the Soviet Union or force them to take desperate measures. In hindsight it worked, but it was a gamble for the future of America and the world.

Likewise, in the FF Reed stared into the abyss: it was his "to be or not to be" moment. As with Hamlet, readers must decide if he is mad or sane?

Quick issue summary

• Previously:
• 243-244: Reed saved Galactus
• 245: Franklin knows something is very wrong.
• 246-7: Reed's descent into chaos is complete: Doom is back.
• 248: it's all a nightmare
  
• 249-250: the Skrulls and Shi-ar both send a warning.
• Now:
  
• 251-256: Reed tries to escape, but he cannot
  
• 257: just as Reed must have foreseen (or planned for?) Galactus destroys the Skrull throne world
• 258-260: so the Surfer gets involved, to help Reed. He can't stop Galactus or the galactic empires, but he can at least remove Doom from the equation.
• 261-262: but it's too late: Reed must pay for his crimes
• 263-264: Johnny suffers
• 265-267: Sue suffers (264-65 are the calm before the final storm)
• 268-270: Reed cannot escape: Doom returns from the grave and "Terminus" is a figment of Reed's madness.
• 271-273: who is Reed, really? We finally begin to learn the truth about Reed, before the final horrific climax to act 4.
  

251

Issue 251: staring into the abyss

Why now?

Reed has rescued Galactus, who is about to destroy the Skrull Throne world. The Skrulls and Shi'ar just sent a warning. So Reed has to escape. But is escape possible? Is this an unconscious suicide attempt?

Woah, wait, suicide??? No way!

The Fantastic Four works on multiple levels. The surface level is feel-good escapism. So the dark side is usually hidden. But it's always there.

Suicide is a common theme.

Ben attempts suicide in FF297.

But these were very depressed people, not like Reed, right?
Well ask yourself this question: if person A causes person B to be injured, who will hate himself the most? A or B?

Reed always takes responsibility for everything. Unlike Ben, who in most ways has a very healthy psyche, Reed is an idealist. He has no place for his own weakness. Any outsider would say that highly strung Reed is far more likely to be self hating than easy going Ben.

Reed is so intelligent that he finds it hard to connect to other people. Other people do not understand him. We don't know what is going on underneath the surface. Separation from others is another risk factor for suicide.

When Reed fails he blames himself. He cannot cope. He becomes violent with himself:

Note that last frame: when he calms down he just internalizes it. He still has the same conclusion: there is "no point" in others' solutions.

Most of this web site charts Reed's emotional progress. Crucially Reed never changes his attitudes. The internal crisis was still there, unresolved.

OK, back to the suicide motif. It's there throughout the 28 year story, if you look for it. Probably the most popular FF story of all (FF51) ends in suicide.

Note that the guy could attempt to jump after Reed, but he chooses not to.

Another noble suicide is Herbie: Reed said Herbie was just a machine but Ben realized he was more than that.

The Negative Zone is the go-to pace for suicide, especially for people who look and think like Reed. The name "negative zone" says it all. It is ruled over by Annihilus, "the living death that walks".

So that's the context. We have seen Reed's growing despair throughout Act 4. Now let's look at what he does in FF 251.

OK, now the evidence:

1. It's the only way out
   Reed has saved Galactus, Galactus is about to destroy the Skrull Throne World, and both the Skrulls and the Shi'ar are watching closely. What options does Reed have left?
   

2. By FF251 Reed has failed at everything.
   Doom is back, he can't protect his son from abuse, his mistakes almost killed his family, and so on. Over the last 6 to 12 months (i.e. since 200) the rate of failure has increased. Why does Reed not talk about it? Because his self image depends on being in control. Reed has always kept huge secrets, right from the Planet X story (FF7). Why does he not look miserable? He only looks miserable when he doesn't have a plan, as when Sue left him, or when he failed to stop the Skrull Aging ray. (Also from a practical viewpoint, new readers would not buy the comic if Reed spent every issue in despair, and kept talking about: Marvel discovered that in the divorce story.)

3. He sees his family in similar despair.
   Sue realizes that their lives cannot go on like this (e.g. in FF223, 224, 227, 229-231, and her desperate and failing Stepford Wife gambit). He realizes that he will always fail to cure Ben (FF239,244), and Ben is never at peace (FF249), and it's is all Reed's fault. Finally, it must seem to Reed that Johnny can never find happiness in the team (e.g. FF244). He sees his family as trapped and (under the surface) as miserable as just as he is.

4. He freely chooses "almost certain death."
   So he decides to take them on an extended trip to the negative zone, a.k.a. "almost certain death" (see FF annual 6). When any sane person enters the negative zone (which you never do by choice) your number one goal is to get out as quickly as they can - if you can! Your number two goal is that nobody sees you because they will try to follow you back and kill you. The negative zone is not something you visit unless have no choice, or you want to die!

5. His goal? A long, slow trip to see what they can find.
   This is not just a short trip like before, when they had no choice, and tried to hide, and barely escaped with their lives, but a long, extended trip, to see what they can find! And you know what they always find in the negative zone? Annihilus, who wants to kill all that lives, especially the FF! Blastaar, the murderous living bomb! Stygorr, who's goal is to kill anyone who invades his realm!

6. He is advertising his presence!!
   There are very good reasons why the negative zone portal has multiple massive doors and only survives because the monsters on the other side don't know where it is. So Reed, this time, has created a half mile long gigantic tunnel in the other side, leading straight to the Baxter Building!

7. He removes all locks and barriers!!!
   Reed tells Ben that he his new design "eliminates the need" for locks and barriers! No locks and barriers!!!

8. He creates Hell's bottomless pit.
   For this special journey he has created the new easy-access entrance in the form of a great pit that leads down to the realm of death (literally: the realm is ruled by Annihilus, "the living death who walks.). The Biblical symbolism should be obvious: the negative zone is Reed Richards' version of hell, a realm of demons and death. Reed has created the great bottomless pit, the abyss spoken of in Revelation, and plans to jump straight down there and take his family with him. It is probably just coincidence that Reed's new vehicle looks like a highly ornamental crucifix (shown diagonally, but the writing encourages the reader to rotate the page) and it then closes up in the shape of a coffin.

9. He makes sure he can't be rescued.
   The majority of times that Reed has gone there, he ends up trapped! And then he usually relies on the other team members to rescue him from this side. So this time, for the first time ever, he's taking them all with him!

10. He leaves Franklin unprotected.
    In FF249, the previous adventure, an enemy just blasted a hole in the side of the Baxter Building and Spider-man could just swing on in. So now Reed leaves Franklin with Alicia there!. Alicia is blind and un-powered. Ben alerted Reed to the fact that Annihilus is a very great danger. Reed must know that Annihilus has a special interest in Franklin. So Reed leaves Franklin unprotected by the entrance to the Negative Zone! Why Franklin? Galactus is Franklin's herald. If Galactus unleashes the wrath of the galaxies on Reed the Franklin has no hope. At least Annihilus would make it quick. But the goal of the Skrulls and Shi'ar would be to make the guilty suffer. And remember that although Franklin slows down time (allegedly), beneath it all, Franklin is an adult and would be tried as an adult. He hides in a child's form, but don't let that fool you.
    

11. He notices something going the other way, but does not care!
    As they leave, Reed notes that something powerful may have come back in the other direction: something from hell may be heading back to his home. Statistically, based on past experience, it is most likely to be Annihilus. He does not seem to care!

12. When deep inside the zone he acts like he wants to die.
    See commentary to FF254 and FF256. Time and again Reed behaves erratically, as if death is always his goal.

13. The reason he gives for visiting makes no sense.
    Reed says he wants to explore its "endless wonders." Reed must have a zillion things to explore, and all of them are less dangerous than the negative zone, so why choose that? Obviously he has some free time. Then may I suggest a higher priority: His own son! His son who can potentially destroy galaxies (see FF 141). Whatever he can learn from the negative zone is nothing compared to that. And Franklin has the power of Annihilus' cosmic control rod in his blood, so by studying Franklin you get to know the neg zone at the same time. And apart from the scientific reasons, the parental duty reasons and the save-the-world reasons, there is the little matter of a promise. Reed said in issue 229, regarding Franklin's powers, "I'll never stop pursuing the problem until I've resolved it." Whatever happened that that promise?

14. When he gets back he avoids looking for Franklin.
    See commentary to FF256. Then, to keep Franklin "safe" he takes him to a more dangerous place, where he ends up in Hell (Reed's original plan, but this time a different Hell?) Maybe he didn't specifically plan the hell thing, but surely he did a background check on the neighbors? At the very least he should have remembered the last time they moved out - and ended up over a pit to the center of the Earth. Note the parallels: the high tech infernal abyss, the Mole Man's high tech pit, and being pulled underground by demons in FF276. Surely Reed cannot have consciously intended this, but unconsciously he is acting like Doom (foreshadowing their final confrontation in FF annual 20).

Sue is not entirely innocent either: this is what she said just before leaving Franklin: "the Baxter Building is no place for a normal child."

Then what did she do? She abandons him in the Baxter building!!!!

Any claim of innocence is lost at this point. She knows better. The Negative Zone visit was not necessary.

As for the ideal home for Franklin, Sue is correct that the Baxter Building is no place for a normal child, but Franklin is not normal, he is superhuman. Also, Franklin has never been in danger because of being in the Baxter Building (it's one of the best protected buildings in the world). He has only ever come to harm because his parents neglected him: at least two of his attacks were because they gave Agatha Harkness privileged access as a nanny instead of raising Franklin themselves.

Then, in an act of what can only be madness, Reed recently removed the only defenses Franklin had. What was Reed thinking??

And still Reed does not keep his promise made in FF229 (to find out about Franklin's powers as his top priority). Until Reed keeps his promise, Franklin will not be safe and neither will the team. But neither Sue nor Reed are thinking clearly at this point: we are nearing the end of Act 4, and everything is going wrong.

The zeitgeist, and a world's first
The 1980s saw a growing awareness of homosexuality in the media.

"I was once told by a gay friend of mine (and I can't find where he cited this from originally) that Fantastic Four #251 by John Byrne features the first instance of homosexuality being mentioned in a mainstream comic book. Juliette D'Angelo pines for actor Grey Landers, but then dismisses the notion by thinking that he must be gay." - Sean Kleefeld

On the subject of gay rights, Kleefeld notes that everyone says the Fantastic Four is about family, yet it is not a standard nuclear family: Ben and Johnny are not children, and others can be accepted into the inner circle (e.g. Alicia, Crystal). So he grew up believing that a family is about long term commitment and love, not specifically male, female and children.

Other points to note

• Doctor Who
  The negative zone stories (FF251-256) are largely based on episodes of Dr Who. See the Dr Who section for details.
• My FF subscription began here
  For years I had read the FF in reprints, and the occasional random American issue (I think 142 was my first). but this was the first issue when I began to subscribe. For how it affected me, see the notes to FF234, about Marvel UK.
  

252

Issue 252: well, what did Reed expect?

Not only did Reed leave Franklin undefended, but in FF245 he had made Franklin powerless. Annihilus has a special interest in Franklin (see FF140), he rules a large part of the Negative Zone, and his greatest desire is to reach our universe. So this attack was hardly unexpected. It could be argued that Franklin's worst enemy is Reed, and Sue is partly responsible because she always deferred to Reed instead of following her intuition. At the same time that Annihilus was attacking Franklin and Alicia, Reed was saying that nothing is what it appears. Is this really an innocent trip to the Negative Zone (if such a thing is possible), or is Reed's subconscious giving us a clue to the real nature of this "science trip"?

Reed as Hamlet
On a personal note, I have always been a huge fan of Reed Richards. of all the team, I have only ever identified with Reed (until recently). Reed is my avatar on the Fantastic Four Comic books forum. I began my Reed Richards page because I was annoyed that modern comics do not portray Reed as such a hero.

But when making this web site I am looking for patterns and themes, and I am shocked by what I see: Reed Richards does not come off well at all.

Reed really is the Hamlet character. He is sincere, we care for him and we see how he suffers, we see his heroic nobility. But as the story develops we begin to wonder: did Hamlet really see the ghost? Why did Hamlet not show remorse when he killed Polonius? Was Hamlet faking being mad or was he really truly insane? Is Reed like his father? Not evil, but not quite a hero either, despite moments of great nobility? Only the reader can judge.

Other points to note

• This is the only issue of the series to be printed in landscape of "wide screen" format (as if on its side)
  
• This is also the first issue where Byrne draw directly in ink, without penciling first.
  

253

Issue 253: when strongly held beliefs do not match the evidence

All the Negative Zone stories revolve around deep secrets that the people either cannot see or refuse to admit, because they cannot handle the truth. Is this a parallel to Reed's own mental state, e.g. the decision to enter the zone?

In FF254 Reed meets a race who have found their promised land but reject it. For Reed, Franklin is the promised land: Franklin is the future, Franklin has the power and secrets that Reed both wants and needs. But Reed won't enter that new, bigger world. Reed keeps Franklin at arms' length because Franklin has too much power, and Franklin has a greater claim on Sue's love. By putting Franklin first, Reed would no longer be number 1. Note that the head alien is called number 1.

Other points to note

• "Lady, That's my Skull" points out that the long thin space ship resembles a hair curling iron. This reflects how time in the ship artificially changes the aliens, making them less flexible, just as a curling iron artificially straightens hair.

• Sales: "According to the Statement of Ownership on this issue’s “Fantastic Four Fan Page,” there was an average of 443,238 issues of each John Byrne FF printed during the proceeding 12 months, but 204,366 were eventually returned by newsstands. Is there any wonder why the direct market caught on?" (Andrew Wahl) The early 1980s was when the great transition to comic shops began. However, while they helped the comics in the short term (because newsstands were gradually removing comics in favor of more profitable merchandise), comic shops only catered to existing fans. Fewer and fewer new readers started the hobby. That and other factors like decompressed stories contributed to ever decreasing sales (after a brief investment bubble in the early 1990s). Although the FF only sold a little over 200,000 issues, today the number one comic each month sells only half that and most are far worse.
• "The character 'Howling Mad' Murdock in the television series 'The A-Team' is briefly seen reading this issue in the first-season episode 'A Small and Deadly War,' which aired in February 1983." (source)
  
  (motivational poster added by 'MizHowlinMad')
  

254

Issue 254: Reed's death wish?

This issue is different from all others. It's the only time in the 321 issue series that we see Reed and Sue in bed (this is where they conceive the new baby). It's also the one that's dripping with evidence that Reed is consciously planning suicide.

1. He leaves the ship far behind - yet Sue's invisibility could have hidden it (we have established that such things are now easier for her).
2. He insists that "this should be a peaceful, easy visit", when all their experience of the negative zone says death hides around every corner.
3. He is irritable (to Ben, "please don't cause trouble") despite his claims of safety, and this journey being in effect a holiday.
4. This is the first time in their journey that they travel in disguise.
5. Reed's explanation of odd energy readings is either nonsense (high energy means danger, not safety), or a diversion: the message "unusual energy reading yet perfectly safe" conveys zero information.
6. When it becomes clear there is danger, Reed still seems very keen on entering the tower , and he does not call the others (luckily they show up anyway)
7. He is conscious of danger of being drugged, and that different physical laws mean his scanners are not reliable, but he eats and drinks everything anyway, even though it tastes (and presumably smells) drugged.
8. The evidence continues in the commentary to 256.

Why is it not more obvious? In real life such plans are always hidden. Nobody says "well friends, today I will kill myself." This is especially true of a comic, where many readers are young, others started reading recently and are unaware of the 20 year back story, and still others buy the book for an entertaining good guys versus bad guys story. This story works on all levels.

Other points to note

• Reed has a negative attitude to his family: that is, his work and his battles are what he chooses to do, and his family is a duty, not a love (e.g. Franklin is pushed away wherever possible). That is the central conflict at the heart of the 27 year story. So it is fitting that Franklin's birth is owed to the negative zone, and his sister is conceived here. Note also that the negative zone was created (in FF51) as a part of Reed's efforts to emulate Galactus (such an ego!) and to overcome the speed of light: by defeating light he found darkness and by trying to span the galaxy he comes back to a womb.
  

255

Issue 255: Alicia can't take it any more

Alicia needs Ben to protect her, and he is never there. And his neglect leads to her being tortured, it almost killed her.Ben constantly puts off proposing, due to his self confidence issues. Being away having to save the world is understandable, but Ben did not need to go on this speculative adventure. And he knew that the Negative Zone entrance was unguarded because Reed told him so.This is when Alicia loses hope. The next time Ben chooses to stay away without a good reason, Alicia will find somebody else, somebody less afraid of commitment. (Next, Ben stays behind on Battleworld when the others come back.)

Meanwhile Reed gets his wish, almost: he almost dies (the cover says he is dead). But Reed will always fight: it's a matter of pride. A death wish is not a simple suicide: it is simply an attraction to deadly danger.

• This is the issue where we first see Reed's intellect as at home in a computer: note the speed with which he gains regains consciousness inside the machine and then takes over the ship. From now on , particularly in the Franklinverse, Reed is shown as having an unnatural ability, beyond just being a scientist. Possibly the ship enhanced his abilities. This would explain how he can achieve the feet of rebuilding a model of the Baxter Building in the next issue. it would also explain how he can so quickly adapt to Doom in FF352.
  
• Reed seems genuinely happy when working out where he is inside the computer: he is in his element, without distractions. This fits the idea that he is autistic. It's a long time since he's been happy.

256

Issue 256: Reed's death wish, continued

Note that Ben genuinely loves Alicia. His feelings for her are real. His neglect is due to his personal issues, his deep fear that she cannot really love him. But they need each other and it is only his tragic personal issues that force them apart. After this turning point, Ben will finally face his issues on Battleworld, and ironically Alicia will take that as final proof that he has abandoned her.

This issue we see yet more evidence for a death wish:

1. When released he takes their ship - in which they could survive for years - right up to the most dangerous part of the negative zone. He then insists they all stand outside, next to where matter and antimatter collide!
   
2. When they arrive back, he avoids looking for Franklin, in order to put out fires - which the Torch can easily do. He tells the torch to stop, in case he starts fires, yet Johnny is absorbing fires, and his flame has complete control (e.g. flaming in gasoline vapor, shaving Namor, etc.)
   
3. Reed tells Captain Marvel not to help, yet she could find Franklin at literally the speed of light!
   

At best, Reed is irrational, at worst he not only wants to die himself, but wants to take his family with him.

257

Issue 257: does Reed actually care for Franklin?

What is Reed thinking????

Franklin was never in danger by being in the Baxter Building, that was the only thing that gave him any protection since Reed left him powerless!

Franklin has only ever been in danger because his parents neglected him. Mainly through giving him to Agatha Harkness (Agatha delivered Franklin to Annihilus and later her son Nicholas Scratch possessed the child)

• Sharon is allergic to dairy products: this leads to FF annual 17, which takes place after this, but probably before the last page where Reed disappears.
  
• Tight continuity: Annual 17 refers to Reed's announcement "a couple of days" earlier, and Sue goes house hunting "two days later." Elsewhere the issue refers to events in The Avengers as well as other events in the Marvel Universe. Compare this tight concern with continuity with the later Franklinverse period, where a character like Spider-Man or Wolverine could appear in a  dozen different issues at once and nobody cares.

A17

Annual 17: American militarism (and, decisions have consequences)

The Reagan annuals: empires at war
Ronald Reagan was known for his military spending, including his "Star Wars" program, and his "strong" attitude to America's enemies. So all of Byrne's Reagan-era annuals are about empires at war:

• Annual 17:
  Americans are raised on military milk (see below).
  
• Annual 18:
  Kree and Skrull empires at war
  
• Annual 19:
  Skrulls attempting to take over the galaxy
  

Milk is always the symbol of what we eat and drink as a young child. American children are raised to recite the pledge of allegiance every day, to see gun ownership as a moral right, to see the nation as the world's policeman, and so on. To other nations, this is disturbing. The metaphor of Skrull milk is perfect.

Another way to see annual 17 is that Reed (America) should have dealt more decisively with the Russians (Skrulls). Instead, he literally kicked the problem "into the long grass" and it didn't really go away. Similarly, annual 18 and 19 are about the end of the cold war, about the rise of peace. So these annuals can be seen both as a condemnation and vindication of Reagan. The Great American Novel is not polemical, it is simply here to make us think.

Decisions have consequences
We have seen before that Reed's method (conflict) does not solve anything. Here we see that this is true in the long term: even if we think a problem is solved, then it comes back to bite us.

Sue's method, for comparison
What else was Reed supposed to do?as there any other way to stop the Skrulls in FF2? Let's see what Sue would have done. In FF37 we saw Sue's method against the Skrulls:

1. She goes to them (something she again recommended in the aging ray arc).
2. She uses the Skrulls' own laws - the king condemned Morat
3. She realized that revenge does not work
4. She helped the Skrulls, showing that the FF are not a threat

The splash page
Things are so bad that simply still being together is a reason to celebrate. Note the irony: Johnny says that the only thing that could be better is if Galactus joined Weight Watchers. Yet the irony is that Galactus did shrink and was about to stop eating planets, but Reed saved him, and immediately when they get back (at the end of FF257) Reed is put on trial for exactly that.

The Great American Novel
This is an affectionate look at the American "flyover" states. We see a small town, the roads, the fields, a dairy, a military base, Just as FF4 was a guide to the city, this is a guide to the country. Although the people become monsters they don't mean any harm, they just want to be left alone. The theme of this annual, that decisions have very long term effects, is a warning to every politician, especially in a nation the size of the USA.

Other points to note

• The zeitgeist
  the 1970s was a period of increasing wealth and inequality, where it became affordable for a significant percentage of the population to have expensive toys. Sharon borrows an MG Midget, a classic British car build between 1961 and 1979.
• Avengers
  They mention an Avengers fight at King's crossing: the original three cows were removed in the Avengers, but the milk by that time had affected others.
• King and Lords
  For "King's Crossing" and "Lord's hotel" see comments by FF20: the FF is the Great American Novel, and stands for democracy, opposed to kings and lords.
• Romance
  Johnny Storm likes Julie, but typically Julie doesn't like him. Sharon does like him, but he can't be seen to reciprocate while trying to win Julie. Ah, the complexities of love.
• "Hey kiddies..."
  - for this TV show reference, see notes by FF127
• Reed looks old
  Reed's face looks to be at its oldest: see his own page for how his face reflects his inner stress.
• Baxter Building Insurance
  This issue is more evidence for the destruction of the Baxter Building as an insurance job. At the end, Reed establishes a trust fund. He appears very relaxed about money, but how can this be? The FF has always been very short of money, and he recently paid a vast amount for the Baxter Building. This is more evidence that something happened to solve Reed's money problems. See comments by FF279.
• Continuity
  This issue probably fits in the middle of FF257: Johnny refers to FF257, but it probably takes place before Reed is abducted at the end (and is not rescued until the end of FF262): and the default position is that comics take place in the order in which they are published, and the annual came out at around the same time as FF257-8.
• Stretching time
  Unstable molecules are shown to retard the aging process, explaining the mechanism for superheroes aging slowly.
• Mass shifting
  Unstable molecules are shown to be able to regenerate mass: this is the key to understanding how they work (see the super science page).
• Every frame matters
  Note the long term continuity: events of many years ago still matter. Another example is the super-humanoid from issue 70 turning up again in the 180s. In the Great American Novel every word and every event matters.
  

258

Issue 258: even Doom cares more

This issue provides a stark contrast with Reed from the previous issue, FF257. Dr Doom cares more for his adopted son than Reed does for his real son. "First and foremost" comes Kristoff. Throughout the issue, Doom is shown seeking out the opinions of others. True, he considers everybody as inferior to himself, and he is ruthlessly violent if he disagrees, but he does care and he does listen. Doom delegates. He trains others to replace him. Even the most arrogant man in the universe understand this.

• Popularity
  FF258-261 is widely regarded as one of the best FF arcs ever, because of its multiple sub-plots, sympathetic characters and believable yet dramatic battles. This issue is sometimes cited as the best Dr Doom issue ever.
  
• The Bible
  Not the Biblical parallel on the splash page: Dr Strange looks on his works and says "it is good" - setting himself up as God in Genesis chapter 1.
• The first issue to...
  This is the only issue (in the 28 year run) to feature none of the Fantastic Four.
• Dr Strange
  The comment about Dr Strange needing a disciple was an intentional link to the highly regarded original graphic novel "Dr Strange / Dr Doom: Triumph and Torment" that was then being plotted by Roger Stern.
• Hauptman
  Hauptman hates Doom since Doom killed his brother in FF87, the climax to the perhaps the most important and defining Doom story of all.
  
• Arcade and a Marvel feud
  "One of the things Byrne was known for in the feuding and the fighting was sending little digs at his former partner, Chris Claremont. The most well-known way Byrne did this was through the infamous sight gags regarding Dr. Doom. If Claremont featured Doom in a story, Byrne would soon present a scene where the one, true Doom would admonish and destroy the malfunctioning robot that acted without permission by attacking the X-Men (or wherever else Claremont would use him). Real subtle, eh?" (source) Full details are here.
  
  X-Men 146:
  
  
  FF258:
  

• Doom's character development
  For an overview of Doom's development in his twenty appearances see his own page.

  

259

Issue 259: Choices

This issue is entitled choices. It is subtitled a "bold new beginning" for the Fantastic Four.

Reed has finally decided to leave the Baxter Building.

• Reed will face a choice: will he focus on Franklin, as the decision implies? Or will he keep running back to the Baxter Building whenever he can? What will be his priority?

• Sue also faces a choice. Will she take control and make Reed do the right thing? This is the first issue when Sue really shows what she can do alone (against Doom). "This is the issue the Invisible Girl starts down the road toward being the Invisible Woman." (source)

• Johnny does not know what to do when a girl likes him and makes the first moves - this is not in his experience! He's trying to impress Julie, but of course that gets nowhere.
  

Other points to note:

• Why that house?
  "The house the "Benjamin" family bought, by the way, was based on my own house of the time, in Evanston." (Byrne)
• The 100 issue cycle
  This classic arc, featuring Doom with the power cosmic, comes exactly 200 issues after the first classic arc with Doom and the power cosmic (FF57-60), and almost exactly 100 issues after the "half way" story of th Great American Novel, Doomsman (FF155-157)
  

260

Issue 260: arrogance is fatal

261

Issue 261: love is dying

1945 and 1983

The splash page is a reminder of the famous photo from 1945, where a sailor returning from war grabs a nurse and kisses her. This link is reinforced by other elements in the story.

• Namor copies the famous photo, the zeitgeist of 1945. As in the photo, Namor is a sailor, that's what mariner means (in his case a "sub" mariner, but his father was a regular mariner) and fought the Nazis in WWII
  
• Marrina will remind Sue of herself in 1945: a shy 16 year old, dazzled by Namor's power
• This story comes after Alpha Flight 4, which mirrors WWII. Namor fought a man who wants to be "Master of the World". It began with an attack on the Arctic ocean, and an attempt to destroy Atlantis. This is why Namor hated Hitler:
  "Atlantis was nearly annihilated when Hitler once more ordered it's destruction in 1943. He sent his minions Admiral von Roeder and Captain Kessler attack Atlantis with an army of manned robots. Once again, Namor came to the aid of his people and assisted them in destroying all the invaders.Atlantis suffered another attack by Nazi forces that learned the location of the domain by forcing a pair of Atlantean fishermen to reveal it to them. After devastating the area, they fled to Antarctica where they were defeated by the Sub-Mariner." (source)
• The title "the hunt for Reed Richards" reflects how Sue would have felt in May 1945. Reed served in Europe, so he would have come home at that time. Sue was vulnerable while he was away, and fell into the arms of Namor, but would then be shocked and upset, wanting more than anything else to find Reed again.
• She makes her costume younger and sexier for Namor. First, notice the neckline of her costume. She has made it invisible, as if wearing a low cut top. (This is clear in the original comic, but might be changed in later reprints. Always go with the first colors.) Once the Surfer appears she makes the costume fully visible again. Second, notice the sexy boots and short jacket, a teenage style. If she was simply wearing them for warmth she could have worn some trousers as well, as she did in FF221. But she probably does not need extra warmth as her forcefield can block most forms of energy when needed, so would keep warmth in, and the unstable molecule costume adapts to maintain its normal state, which would include temperature.

• The art shows her as small and vulnerable: a tiny form, all alone, with her environment towering over her. This changes once she meets the surfer.
• When Namor leaves she telephones an ordinary person for help, just as she would have done when alone in New York as a teenager in crisis.
• Namor leaving with Marrina is drawn in a way that could be a younger Namor leaving with Susan. In the two frames where Namor leaves with Marrina, the roof of the Baxter Building is drawn to look like the edge of the river: the Baxter Building roof has a solid ledge, not a low fence as in that picture. Then when Namor carries Marrina away it could easily be an excited teenage Susan. Sue's parting words "take care now" can be seen as a throw away greeting, but also as a warning. Sue was right. When Marrina became pregnant with Namor's child, the child tuned her into a monster and Namor killed her.
• The phallic rocket with 441 on the side. Sue has never been shown walking past it like that before or since - not in a way that it dominates the image - and it has never been shown so fat with such prominent fins. Note the very clear number 441: this is a juggling move, a "side swap" where one ball has to be kept in the air on one side of the body while another is kept in the air on the other side.
  
• Sue is twice shown going downwards, into her home. Yes, we know she was on the roof: normally she would be shown walking toward the exit, then the next scene would show her at her destination. But here the downward movement is emphasised: looking down, going down, elevator, stairs, into Sue's empty private inner space. Symbolism much?

• FF251-256 takes place in the negative zone, where time moves at a different pace. The doctors said that hanging upside down did no permanent damage to Franklin and Alicia, so it was probably for less than a day.
• FF257 says it's "two days" since they got back (in that time they were at Franklin's hospital bed)
• Annual 17 says it was "a couple of days" since Reed said they would move out.
• FF261 has Sue only just notice that Reed had gone, suggesting a day at most had passed. That moves straight into FF262.

So 251-262 is one year of stories (our time) in around five days, our time! This is a crazy pace that cannot continue or something will break. Meanwhile John Byrne is running late for a deadline (see FF262), implying that his life takes place in real world time.

A problem with chronology?
In FF262 Sue says that FF244 (when Reed saved Galactus) was "months ago": but this was a unique case of a comic book character talking to a real world character about chronology. There are at least three obvious explanations:

• 1. It really was months, to compensate for all the other events that take just a  few days.
• 2. Sue said something different, but Byrne heard it as "months" because that is how time stretches in the interface between Marvel Time and Real Time.
• 3. Byrne heard "weeks" but wrote it as "months" so as not to confuse new readers.

262

Issue 262: good and evil, and ultimate cosmic truth

Did John Byrne remember this correctly?
The Watcher said that the memory was already fading. By the time the comic dialog was added we can expect it would contain errors.

Did Galactus need to be saved?
Galactus is a phenomenon, nothing has ever been able to stop him. Whenever he appears to die he always comes back in some way. The High Evolutionary even dissipated Galactus into an energy field, and still he came back. It is absurd to think that Galactus could have been ended forever simply because he grew tired!

Then what did Reed do?
Reed showed Galactus that Reed is his friend. That is why Galactus defended him at the trial: to help "that mortal I name friend." Incidentally, this ends Galactus as a threat. He is now Reed's friend. While it is conceivable that Galactus may need to attack Earth in the future he does not want to, and will take any other alternative if possible. Somebody with Reed's mind can always find some other solution. The Galactus-versus-Earth subplot is over.

Was Reed to correct to try and save Galactus?
Reed was "steadying the ark." See Biblical book of judges: the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God (kind of like Galactus). It was carried in front of the people of Israel. At one point the cart stumbled and a nearby priest put out his hand to steady the ark. He was struck dead by God. Why? The idea that God needs help is far more dangerous than the idea that God might appear to fail to our limited understanding. But Galactus is not God, he does not require worship, so he found Reed's efforts to be merely a sign of friendship.

Was Reed good or evil?

Reed Richards
Reed's logic is faulty: he says that Galactus is not good or evil, therefore he is not evil, therefore he is good. If we ever wanted proof that Reed has mentally fallen apart y the end of Act 4, then here it is. As to why the Watcher agrees, we will come to this in a moment.

Odin
Odin says that Reed was not criminal, because Galactus is a test, just a s the dangerous seas made the Vikings strong. .But listen to who is speaking! The Norse gods were a pessimistic lot, where all of life was a cold, harsh, negative thing, where death in battle was the best you could hope for, and even the gods would eventually die. Odin is simply a pessimist who believes that death and annihilation is good. We may have well heard testimony from Chthulu. Let us move on.

Galactus
Galactus said that Reed is his friend, with pure intentions and [therefore] his deed was honorable and good. Yet Galactus is above good and evil (as stated in his first appearance and repeated in this issue), so why did he use the word "good"? His only concern is his own needs, and he speaks simply because Reed is his friend.

What is cosmic truth?
Why, then, does the Watcher say that Galactus is "the cosmic truth"? Note that the Watcher hangs his head when he says that. We'll come to that in a moment. The best guide we have to cosmic truth is the final story in FF annual 23: the story surveys all levels of reality, and comes to the final conclusion that scale is an illusion and the highest plane of existence is whichever one you currently occupy. So the cosmic truth is that the cosmic truth is nothing special: if 2 + 2 = 4 then that is true wherever you find it. It is dangerous to believe in a higher truth takes precedence. Is there a place where 2 + 2 = something else? (See George Orwell's 1984: freedom is the freedom to say that 2+2=4 regardless of what the controlling party may say.)

Galactus as cosmic bacteria
Galactus cannot choose either good or evil (see the last page of the story, where the Watcher again hangs his head). Galactus is simply a test that keeps populations healthy. Ironically, in this story an attack on Galactus is compared to bacteria on a human skin. Yet the moral analogy is that Galactus is the bacteria: his attacks are necessary to maintain a good immune system. Yet a moral person will act to prevent bacteria from wiping out whole populations. Reed did the opposite. He decided that bacteria are good (true) therefore they should not be opposed (false).

For more about the nature of Galactus as cosmic tester, see the discussion by FF74.

Lilandra
Lilandra understands morality. Unlike the passive Watcher and destructive Galactus, Lilandra says she is pledged to preserve all life. She is  scared by Galactus (rightly so), but is also not impressed by his amorality.

Sexism
equality and sexism are a major part of America and this is the Great American Novel. So Lilandra plays the role of females throughout the Fantastic Four: beautiful but out of her depth, instructed by the men. All the witnesses are male (there may be doubt over Eternity, so Galactus calls him "father" just so we know. Where are the mothers of the dead Skrulls? Like in some ancient court, only the men's testimonies are heard. The only female who looks like she might be a witness (Frankie Raye) is actually a herald for the man, Galactus. Yet Lilandra is correct and all the men are wrong! She is the only one who is devoted to saving lives! The woman speaks the truth despite the male sophistry (Reed), amorality (Galactus) and love of war (Odin)! She is only finally persuaded due to mind control. And what of Sue? By the end of Act 4 (most recently the torture of Alicia and Franklin), Sue is so emotionally beaten that her only role is to be as cheerleader for her husband

Eternity
Eternity does not say Reed was right. He simply says that Galactus should exist. Alarm bells should be ringing at his strange choice of words: Eternity says that "mortal life hangs in the balance, because your truth is doubted." Excuse me? Mortal lives hang in the balance all the time: that is why it is called mortal life. People die all the time because of false understanding, so why defend Reed? Look forward to FF351: on a cosmic scale, Reed Richards matters. (Because Earth matters, and Earth matters to other planets because of the superheroes. Reed is the one who triggered the superhero flood gates opening, and his team is at the cutting edge of everything that happens, and he puts himself right at the front.) The message of Eternity is not that Reed is right, but that Reed should be saved.

Lilandra again
Finally Lilandra and the others were brainwashed into accepting Reed's innocence.

The Watcher
The Watcher summarizes the trial by saying that the correctness of Reed's decision will never be questioned (except by fan boys like me, LOL). That is not the same as saying that Reed is innocent or that killing billions of people is suddenly OK.

The zeitgeist: religion
These recent issues were written in the early 1980s, when American politics, after moving toward secularism in the 1960s and 1970s, turned back toward religion. This was due to the famous wedge issues of evolution and abortion that gave the Bible Belt to the Republicans, and the rise of the tele-evangelist and other trends. Many (arguably all) of these issues of the Fantastic Four have underlying religious themes:

• 251 is a descent to hell,
• 252 is a priestess's prophecy
• 253 is a blinkered religion
• 254 is about another high priest's religion
• 255 is Reed's death and resurrection
• 256 is Reed escaping from Hell, and the results of his sin
• 257 is judgment day for a world
• 258-260 have many religious parallels (death and resurrection of Tyros and later Doom, stealing divine power of a god, etc) - see individual commentaries
• And now this issue on the nature of good and evil, and Reed's judgment day.

• John Byrne cameos
  For Byrne's other cameo, see the notes to FF216.
  

263

Issue 263: good intentions are not enough

This issue is about a false messiah: a man who, like Reed, thinks he is doing the best thing possible, saving the world. But in fact he's making it worse.

Sue looks to be in love?
When a woman is neglected by her husband she will often do her best to be loving. Here we see Sue doing her best to act like all is well. Yet still Reed abandons her when she needs him.

How much time passes
Most of the second half of act 4 passes extremely quickly, with just a day or so per issue. But two months pass here. Reed can no longer complain that he is to busy for Franklin. He had two months without any major danger.

Reed's willful neglect
Franklin wants to talk and play, but instead Reed leaves, to go and potter around in the Baxter Building. Reed would rather spend his time on anything other than Franklin, his own son.

Reed's face
Without dangers, Reed loses his sense of purpose. Notice how his "living in a small house" face is even more haggard than his regular face, reflecting his inner state.

The Great American Novel
What could be more American than Disney? This issue is the FF's homage to the brand, though of course it cannot use the actual characters. Note that Maas (any relation to "Mouse" may be coincidental?) is not a villain, he simply did what he thought was best - the entire issue is sympathetic. It's the robots who go too far. Disney world is of course famous for its animatronics and underground tunnels for staff.

The Mole Man in context
For how the Mole Man's ten appearances reflect racism and the underground in America, see the notes to issue 1.

The expanding Earth
"Alden Maas" is an anagram of "Neal Adams," the artist famous for his influence on comic art, on creators rights, and his belief that the earth is expanding.

The above image from Wikipedia shows an extreme version of the theory: actual expansion if it happens may be far less. The theory doesn't sound as crazy if you put it another way: the Earth's core is becoming less dense. This comic was dated February 1984. In November 1984 a reputable science magazine published an article summarizing the evidence for expansion. In short, continental drift fits better if the Earth is expanding. If you try to fit the continents on a modern sized planet there are gaps, and these gaps reflect newer crust.

"The geological and geophysical implications of such Earth expansion are so profound that most geologists and geophysicists shy away from them. In order to fit with the reconstruction that seems to be required, the volume of the Earth was only 51 per cent of its present value, and the surface area 64 per cent of that of the present day, 200 million years ago. Established theory says that the Earth's interior is stable, an inner core of nickel iron surrounded by an outer layer that behaves like a fluid. Perhaps we are completely wrong and the inner core is in some state nobody has yet imagined, a state that is undergoing a transition from a high-density state to a lower density state, and pushing out the crust, the skin of the Earth, as it expands." (Owen, Hugh; "The Earth Is Expanding and We Don't Know Why, "New Scientist, p. 27, November 22, 1984)

While Owen's view is of modest expansion, more extreme theories seem to contradict the evidence: they suggest that all continental drift is driven by expansion, and that the earth was much smaller. However there is evidence for other causes of continental drift, and a much smaller earth would have noticeably higher gravity on the surface which would show up in dinosaurs finding it harder t grow to such sizes. This is reflected in the comic: while in a world of comics an expanding earth is perfectly reasonable, the man supporting it goes much too far.

264

Issue 264: the answer to all their problems

To see the importance of this issue, step back and see the big 27 year story. Reed's story is his need to put his family first. Eventually he must step down as leader. This issue reminds us of his lack of social skills. In this issue we see that everyone is separate and alone, exhausted or paralysed. Reed is not on top of the situation. In particular he's abandoning his pregnant wife. Reed believes that he cannot make time for Franklin because he (Reed) is needed to lead the team, but that is not true. He's not a good leader. His story is of his need to become a good father instead.

Meanwhile, Ben is crippled by self doubt, even now. Ben's story is to come to love himself as he is: he will finally find his natural place at the top.

Acting like children

1. The main story is about a man who was so obsessed with toys that he went completely off the rails.
2. At the end we find that Alden Maas died long ago: a subtle reference to the rumors that Disney wanted his body cryonically frozen when he died. Disney's family has denied this, but the myth is too strong to die: the myth of the man who could not face reality (in this case the reality of death).
3. Art the end, Reed runs away to another world: Secret Wars starts (for him) in The Thing issue 10.
   
4. Secret Wars existed as a way to sell toys for Mattel. Jack Kirby's Marvel Comics appealed to adults, but by now they are just vehicles for selling children's toys.

Note the pose when they leave for Secret Wars. it is the same pose as used on the back of oversized Fantastic Four Treasury Edition, intended to show the FF at their most noble.

Other points to note

• The Mole Man's restraint
  This is a major cataclysm for the Mole Man: his entire new civilization (from FF annual 13) is destroyed. So he shows remarkable restraint, showing the depth of his character. Imagine if your entire nation and all your hopes and dreams were destroyed in a similar way. Yet most people treat the Mole Man as just a two bit villain. There are parallels with America's great enemies, such as Iran. Iran's history shows every reason to hate the west (the coup in 1953 supported by Britain and America that overthrew its democratic government, the destruction of its neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.). Yet the west treats Iran like a troublesome child that somehow never learns and cannot do the obvious right thing. Like the Mole Man, Iran inherits lives on land once occupied by an ancient civilization.
  
• Real time calculations
  A note says that several months have passed since FF262. This is the only major gap, most other issues in Sue's pregnancy take place within days of even minutes of each other.
  
• The Beyonder
  This issue contains the first hint of the Beyonder. Beyonders in general were introduced in Ben's own title, Marvel Two In One, a few years earlier. The Beyonder's full nature will be revealed in FF319.
  
• A homage to FF 1
  The cover is one of two that homage FF1 (the other being FF126), and one of seven by Byrne: see an almost complete guide here.

265

Issue 265: Reed would rather fix the house than fix his family

This issue is about Reed's refusal to be a real man. In the past he was a chauvinist, and his family came crashing down round him. now he has lost confidence, but instead of treating Sue as an equal he goes to the opposite extreme: he spends his time on the house, and chooses She-Hulk, a woman who is stronger then him, one who towers over him. Reed still cannot see women as equals.

"The house that Reed built"
What has Reed been doing with all this free time? Spending time on his son as promised? Making Sue feel special? No, working in his shed. He made high tech devices to protect his family, when the only power than can really protect his family is his son, if only he cared enough to notice.

And now, as the high profile leader, he's been called away on business. He spends time on the house and on his job, but not on his family.

How essential is it to fix up the Baxter Building? Reed and Sue and Johnny all live elsewhere now, and Ben can look after himself. What is Reed really doing there? Only fixing the security? Or is he making plans for something? See notes by FF279.

A family drama
Note that superpowers are just a McGuffin, an excuse to tell a particular story. This story is really a familiar tale of a father not having time for his family. The super powers just make it more colorful.

Peter's final issue
This is the end for Peter Petruski's story of coming unglued. he has failed at everything.

This is his last attempt to do something, on his own because nobody has any respect for him. He needs to prove himself but can only defeat himself.

• Sexism?
  Byrne-haters might suggest that John Byrne's unusual interest in She-Hulk (here and in her own title), and tendency to draw women in bondage situations (an allegation discussed later), comes from a similar misogyny to Reed. But Byrne supporters would say the opposite: that (1) the statistics do not back up the bondage claim, (2) his treatment of Sue here shows that she is emotionally more mature than Reed, and (3) Byrne's treatment of She-Hulk in her own title shows he he one of the few men who treat women as rounded individuals with a sense of humor and interests beyond simply having a big bust and boyfriends.
  

266

Issue 266: dramatic contrast

This is a flashback issue, so we can see the contrast with what happens next. This issue forms the calm before the storm, so we can appreciate how far the family has fallen in a short time since the optimism of FF232, and how much worse it's about to become.

The importance of being cosmetically aware
This was a light hearted story that Sue and Ben told to Alicia later, so it would be perfect to tell to Franklin as well. It would reinforce the simplistic view that Franklin has of romance: that men should automatically love women. Note the (pun) punchline: Karisma was "cosmetically aware": even she understood these basic superficial rules. Contrast that with Reed's neglect of Sue: he looks so deep that he can't see the obvious surface things - a man should pay attention to his wife. So the stage is set for what happens the next issue.

This story reminds us that things are getting worse and worse. This story is set at the around the time of FF232, when Sue was trying to be happy and pretty for Reed, to make everything right. They tried to act happy, to joke around, to act like everything is right. But now we can see the contrast: instead everything went wrong, and it's about to get far worse.

267

Issue 267: Sue loses the baby

Why does Sue lose the baby? Because Reed exposed Sue to radiation in the negative zone.

Franklin and the unborn baby

Years later it was revealed that the baby did not die. Her consciousness left her tiny body, but it went elsewhere to a different body far away. Most fans consider this a horrible retcon that cheapens a powerful story.  But seen another way, it heightens the tragedy. This is why.

The long term story structure

The story of the baby (later named Valeria) is an example of how the Great American Novel has a large scale structure, where every issue matters. Even though it was not planned that way, and the connections may not be obvious at the time.

The baby was to be their second child. To see what happened, consider the first child's point of view. Sub-space plays a key role. so we need to go right back to act 3:

Franklin and sub-space

• FF51: sub-space is introduced: the space that allows movement between dimensions. It is later called the Negative Zone, as it is made from what we call antimatter (and turns out to be extremely dangerous to those not familiar with its rules). Sub-space connectivity is the theme that defines Franklin's powers and explains the story of Valeria.
• FF annual 5: Sue's first pregnancy is announced. This suggests that he was conceived perhaps three months earlier: pregnancies are usually not announced immediately in case there are early complications. Annual 5 (summery 1967) takes place immediately after FF66, suggesting conception took place between FF63 and the FF64. This is the only time it was really possible: the only quiet time for months either side, when Reed makes time for Sue and then takes her on holiday (where they meet the Kree Sentry). Before that there is barely "two seconds'" gap (according to hyperbolic the splash page from FF63) since Reed was trapped in the Negative Zone. In other words, Franklin was conceived a day or so after Reed spent an extended period in sub-space, which of course requires every atom of the body to be changed in the distortion zone.
• Between annual 5 and annual 6: real time begins to stretch. Hence the last six months of the pregnancy took a year. As Franklin grows older the rate of stretching increases. The ability to stretch time is consistent with the properties of sub-space: when it was introduced the whole point was to enable faster than light travel (and hence time dilation).
  
• FF annual 6: Franklin is born, but he needs the most powerful substance in the Negative Zone, energy from the Cosmic Control Rod, in order to survive.
  
  Fast forward through Reed's crisis in act 4...
  
  
• FF244: Reed begins his string of terrible decisions: he saves Galactus. For why this is so wrong see the discussion by FF262.
• FF245: Franklin is linked to Galactus (See noted by FF74) so this and other events disturbs his unconscious. He tries to grow up, to take control. But he cannot cope. In real time he is 14 years old and hitting puberty, but consciously he is just five years old.
• FF246-256: Reed continues his string of terrible decisions: returning Doom to power, abandoning Franklin to Annihilus, etc.
• FF257: As a result, Franklin's herald (Galactus) begins to die: he has lost his sense of direction.
  The same day that the doctor examines Franklin (after his Annihilus ordeal) he also tests Sue and finds she is pregnant.
  Yet rather than protecting his wife, Reed continues with another disastrous decision: the Baxter Building is not safe (since Reed de-powered Franklin), so they will move into an unprotected house. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
  
• FF259-62: Reed is put on trial for crimes against life. See the notes by that issue for why he is let off. 
• FF263-265: Sue suffers Negative Zone related pregnancy complications, and Johnny is tortured, and Franklin is only weeks from the trauma of Annihilus. So where is Reed? Helping them? Listening to them? Protecting them? No, Reed is absent, exploring interesting things in Central Park. 
• FF266: we have a flashback to happier times, in a story about how men are supposed to love women. 

You can see where Franklin's mind is leading. At this point Franklin is aged 15 in Real Time, but emotionally he is younger. He has been neglected and put in danger by his father for his whole life. He is scared. And now he is about to be replaced. A sweet baby girl will now take his parents' affection. And now the final straw: the pregnancy is causing his mother great pain! What if it kills her?? A scared 15 year old with stunted emotional growth will come to an obvious conclusion.

What would Franklin do?

So Franklin sees the baby as a threat (unconsciously at least). But he also knows that his mother loves the baby, so he can hardly kill it. Let us see what he as done when faced with crises in the past:

• In FF141 we knew that Franklin has the universe at his feet. In FF 245 we see that Franklin's power can unconsciously age and de-age himself, see inside Ben's mind, and change Ben's body as well. He can basically do anything, and just wants a happy family. 
• In FF150 we saw that Franklin will unconsciously save his family. (On the last page of FF38 we saw that Sue has that same ability, albeit limited to her own power set: even if unconscious she will not let her family be harmed if she can help it.)
  

So Franklin can fix things, but how?

• In FF10 we saw that minds can swap between bodies, or go to new empty bodies as needed.
  
• In FF260 we just saw that two minds can occupy one body if needed. In FF228 we saw that Franklin unconsciously caused his mind to occupy two bodies at once.
  

OK so Franklin could unconsciously remove the baby to another body, but where?

• In FF118, FF252, etc., we see that many parallel worlds exist: Lockjaw was the first to point out alternate versions of the FF on these worlds.
  
• In FF75 we learn that thoughts can be transmitted across a whole universe if either the sender or receiver has enough power.
  

So by FF267, the loss of the baby, we know that

1. Franklin will remove the baby, without hurting it, if he can.
2. And he can.
3. Franklin can easily transfer the consciousness to one of those dimensions
4. In another dimension the baby could grow up normally
5. If there is anybody else involved in this process it might well be Lockjaw

So the story of saving of the child was contained within the early stories, even though it was not made explicit until later. Even Lockjaw is there, as Valeria's "Puppy".

For the other way that Franklin tried to fix things (with Johnny and Alicia) see the notes to FF 269.

Heightened tragedy

Does this weaken the story? Not in a Shakespearian sense: in the classic sense, the tragedy is heightened by Franklin's unconscious act.

If bad things are just bad luck that is unfortunate but not tragic. Tragedy implies bad things due to a personal failing in an otherwise strong person. And for the greatest tragedies, the suffering must be truly pointless, and only due to our lack of understanding. Take Romeo and Juliet for example. Romeo kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead, and that is sad. But it is a greater tragedy because Juliet is not dead. Then Juliet kills herself because she thinks she can never he happy, which is of course sad. But it is a greater tragedy because it is so unnecessary: lost love should not cause such grief: she is a fourteen year old girl who had a four day romance (Shakespeare's version covers Sunday through to Thursday morning)! The real villain was the dysfunctional family. That is the tragedy, not the death.

This Shakespearian motif is repeated in the loss of the baby. It was caused by Reed's choice to conceive in the Negative Zone and then ignore Sue as her pain increased. It was a tragedy because it could have been avoided if only he paid attention to his existing child. This unnecessary suffering was foreshadowed in the half way story, in FF155-157: the Surfer's tragedy was that he has lost his beloved Shalla Bal. But the tragedy was worse because; unknown to him, she was transported to a place where he could see her again is only he knew: just as Valeria was transported somewhere safe. But Sue, like the surfer, was miserable because she did not know. Then later when she met Valeria again she thought the child was an impostor, just as the surfer thought the girl he saw as just a look-alike. Both innocents were put through the emotional wringer precisely because their happiness was so close yet they did not know where to find it. 

Without Valeria...

Without Valeria the miscarriage would destroy the whole story. Byrne intended it to give "the illusion of change" without actually changing anything. But if nothing changes, there is no big story. Valeria gives the miscarriage long term significance: it is not simply an event without consequences that can therefore be forgotten. It does not simply fade into the past, or no relevance to new readers. Its importance grows with the years. Let us look at why:

The importance of this issue and of Valeria

Valeria (or Maleria as many fans call her) is possibly the most hated character in FF history. Why does she exist, other than to ruin stories? What does she add to the FF? When we find the answer then everything else falls into place.

Valeria is essential to the bigger story moving forwards. This is why:

1. FF 167: to make a deeper tragedy:
   Her (non-)birth was essential to Reed and Sue's character arc. The family had to suffer everything: loss of home, confidence, purpose, being dragged through Hell, etc.. For a family drama losing a child was the worst thing that could happen. But for the greatest tragedy it must be utterly pointless and have repercussions in later years (see above).
   
2. Volume 3:49: she is Franklin's turning point
   Val's return as an unborn child is the great turning point in Franklin's life: the time when he decides to consciously start fixing things. Before that point all his actions were unconscious (e.g. FF150), not powered at all (see the notes to FF269 as it relates to FF332), or guided by Reed (FF245), or were short term panics (annual 14). Franklin had severe and long term psychological problems (see his own page for details), but the rebirth was proof that he could sometimes do things right. His return to mental health reached its climax in FF600.
   
3. FF 600: to move Franklin forwards:
   Everything depends on Franklin. Franklin controls everything. The only way for the story to move forwards is for him to no longer be so mentally messed up. He needs a friend. Valeria is that friend. It is no coincidence that Val is by his side in FF600, where he finally finds peace. Throughout the FF it is always the women who are the real power. E.g. the problems are never solved by violence, but by Sue making friends; Galactus was not defeated by the FF but by Alicia, through touching the heart of the surfer and thus Galactus' heart was no longer in the battle, and so on. Throughout history women have always been treated as flawed and weak, yet have quietly been the creators of everything, and Valeria is the ultimate example of this.
4. The future: to unite the team with Doom:
   The Great American Novel, built around the cold war, cannot be fully resolved until the great conflict is resolved. The team must make peace with its greatest enemy. We saw Doom's character develop and mellow before 2008 (see his own page for details). We saw a Celestial merge Doom and Reed in Claremont's run, where we also saw that a future merged Reed-Doom was Valeria's father. Doom facilitated her birth and named her. In the early years of the Great Reboot we saw that "all hope lies with Doom" and Valeria brings Doom closer and closer to the team. Without Valeria the final peace could not happen. (A note to fans of other comics: every Doombot thinks he is the original Doom, so don't worry, there will always be Evil Doctor Doom stories even after the original Doom has moved on to higher things: the other Dooms will simply deny him.)
   

Valeria's life and career

Valeria was an unborn child in FF277. Franklin sent her to a place of ultimate safety: to Roma, "omniversal guardian" who is charged with the safety of all dimensions. How would that work? FF322-326 (the end of long term continuity) shows us. In FF322-326, two dimensions (magic and normal) merge. From this point on the Fantastic Four routinely hop between dimensions, and sometimes get younger. Valeria is the clearest example of this, because as the youngest (and a girl) her bodily changes are the easiest to judge. Let us follow her life across the dimensions:

• Age -9 months: FF254: Valeria is conceived in our normal, pre-Franklinverse world.
• Age -6 months: FF267: She moves to a parallel world, where Reed more fully merges with Doom.
• Age -3 months: FF volume 3:49: when Franklin reboots the universe he brings her back to "his" world. Why? At this point he has already decided to bring Valeria back (see below) and he was hugging her when he decided to take a chance.
• Age 0: FF volume 3:54: Val still has part-Negative Zone DNA (i.e. it comes from subspace, the space between between dimensions). So it is hard for her to stay in this dimension. Dr Doom, with his expertise in bending the rules (e.g. magic) was needed to help her stay here.
• Age 0-14. Why was it so hard for her to stay? Because she was also growing up in a distant dimension. Normally this would be impossible, but like Franklin, her part-Negative Zone DNA made her a natural dimension-hopper. In FF228 and FF303 we see that Franklin shares consciousness while asleep, with little conscious control. Perhaps Valeria is the same.
• Age 0-6: so far (2014) we have only seen Valeria grow to be around six years old. Fans have complained that she is far too smart, a brat, and far too friendly with Doom. But this is exactly what we should expect if she had access to two brains, and her other self is being raised by a combined Doom-Reed in the other dimension.
• Age 14: FF volume 3:15: this is early 1999, so Valeria (who was unborn in mid 1984) will be 14 years old, real time. Franklin has just rebooted the universe (volume 3:1-12 was Heroes Reborn, 1998) and is returning the team to the "real" world. He is trying to get real time started again: this is Chris Claremont's run where the team seem to remember their past. So he returns Valeria, along with Puppy, and hopes everything will be good now. But it isn't. Things do not go according to plan. Chaos continues, Claremont leaves, Abraxas threatens to destroy everything, so all Franklin can do is bring back Marvel Time, which makes Valeria six years younger than him: an unborn child again.
• Age 25: FF600 (2011): Franklin finally begins to find peace in 2011. Physically he appears in his 20s: not his true age of 43, but closer than 8. He appears with a more likable Valeria. She is her true age: having been due to be born in 1984 she would be in her mid 20s.

As for how this plays out in the future, only time will tell. I just wish they would all age normally: life would be much simpler.

268

Issue 268: Reed doesn't have any answers

Reed admits that it was his fault, but cannot see the implications: maybe he should pay more attention to his family and less to his hobbies?

The mask of Doom

Since FF232 Reed has worn a mask. Before that, he would react passionately to his failures. See his outbursts and his sulks when Sue left. See how he gave up when he lost his powers. See his admission of despair when trapped in the negative Zone in FF231. He doesn't do that any more. No, no matter what happens, he shows the same near-emotionless face. Metaphorically Reed wears a mask, hiding the crisis underneath. And like the literal; mask of Doom in this issue he races around metaphorically shooting fire from his eyes, causing disaster after disaster. And like the mask he can only survive as long as he receives power from outside. He relies on his family and is not the self contained power he believes. Eventually, in the last issue of act 4 (FF295), he will see that.

On planning ahead

The previous issue, FF267, saw Reed at his emotional best. His emotional dialog, when dealing with Otto Octavius, has never been better, before or since. He was dealing with a man who was emotionally even weaker than himself. Reed thought he could perform a last minute rescue, and acted as a great hero, with all the confidence of old. But true success cannot rely on last minute heroism. Reed's lack of dedication in preceding months and years led to that disaster. As a literary contrast, this issue shows Reed's mirror, Doom, and how Doom always plans ahead. Doom never leaves anything to the last minute.

269

Issue 269: Sue finally snaps

Since FF232, Sue has tried to be the perfect Stepford wife, making life easy and very sexy for Reed, pretending that all is good. That all ends here. No more Stepford Sue.

Like mother like son

As the above images show, Sue reacts to frustration the same way that Franklin does: she pushes things away. The next issue, FF270, follows just seconds after Sue's violence: it shows the greatest bonding we have ever seen between Sue and Franklin.

Franklin pushed Frankie away
This is what Franklin did in FF242. He could see that Frankie did not really care for Johnny she only cared for power. So Franklin brought his herald Galactus, somebody Frankie could not resist. That pushed her away, leaving Johnny free (in Franklin's mind) to find somebody better.

Franklin pushed Ben away
Franklin then did the same in FF245. At first he thought that Ben wanted to be human, but the he realized that Ben was scared of being vulnerable. So Franklin gave him a thick skin back. This meant nothing would ever change with Alicia: as long as the thick skin survives, Ben will never face his problems. Franklin didn't push him a long way from Alicia, just a few inches, but far enough that Ben felt safe.

But Franklin knew Alicia well. Alicia was his sitter: Franklin spent more time with Alicia than anybody else. he understood her emotional need for commitment: a child understands that perfectly.

Franklin did not "make" Alicia and Johnny fall in love.
To Franklin's immature mind it was all very simple. Johnny needed somebody reliable. Alicia needed somebody who could commit. Be needed a barrier to feel safe. By giving them what they wanted everything would naturally come right. Franklin did not mess with their minds, he simply removed barriers. Here is what happened n Franklin's own words, from FF322:

Johnny sums it up as "he made us fall in love" but that is not what Franklin said. This is how Johnny interprets what Franklin said. What Franklin said was:

• At the moment he changed he wanted Ben to happy.
• So he made Alicia go with Johnny.

Note that he had the idea at that moment, but Alicia did not date Johnny until almost a year later their time: Sue's pregnancy and many other events came in between. Throughout that time Alicia went with Ben, not Johnny. So the mind control theory fails: Franklin must have meant "At that moment I understood how Ben felt, and so later I made Alicia spend time with Johnny."

Johnny's dream
Then why did Johnny interpret Franklin's words as mind control? Simple: because this was Johnny's dream - a dream about getting back with Crystal.

In the dream, Crystal came back and Johnny needed an excuse to leave Alicia. True, the dream represented what would have happened if the big story had not ended in FF322-326, but it is filtered by the person dreaming it. For example, in Ben's dream (FF329), Sharon is disappointed in him, whereas in Sharon's dream Ben no longer wants to be the Thing. Both dreams contradict what was previously established, but both reflect the insecurities of the dreamers. The dreams are distorted versions of what would happen in real life, just as in all dreams.

The end of the dream
At the end of the dream Franklin says he makes everything right again. But at that time Johnny already wanted Crystal and Ben was already falling out with Sharon (in Ben and Sharon's dreams). His magical "make it back to normal" needed no power at all: he simply gave Ben and Johnny an excuse to do what they wanted to do anyway.

Why Alicia went with Johnny
How did Franklin "make Auntie Alicia go to Uncle Johnny"? The comics show what happened:

1. First, Alicia is abandoned one last time. She spends hours (perhaps days) hanging upside down next to Franklin. Obviously Alicia would want to take Franklin's mind off their impending death. What would they talk about? Ben and Johnny of course. Children tend to talk plainly, so perhaps Franklin mentions how Johnny wants a girlfriend. How he wants to get married. Perhaps Franklin remembers how Johnny likes Alicia (FF160).
   
2. After this ordeal, Alicia is terrified of being alone.
3. She continues to spend a lot of time with Franklin. Surely they talk about more than ice cream.
4. Ben then abandons Alicia again.
5. Alicia keeps remembering the "Karisma" adventure, where Ben left her again.
   
6. In Sue's darkest time Johnny is there and Ben is not. 

Where can Alicia go? Ben is not there. So she begins to find excuses to be with Johnny.

Sue's fertility

In FF269 we learn that Sue's doctor is called Dr Lansing:

This comes is only two issues after Reed looked found all the relevant medical specialists in the Marvel Universe. It cannot be coincidence then when John Byrne began with Marvel comics he drew the Champions (issues 11-15), and would have read the previous few issues, including those featuring Dr Lansing, who specialized in enhanced humans and extended life.

I

Reed said (probably rightly) that the miscarriage was due to conceiving the child in the Negative Zone. Lansing said no., How could he be sure, when he knew far less about the Negatve Zone than Reed? Because there is one very obvious fact about Sue's fertility, that any moderately trained doctor would immediately pick up: although Sue has the body of a woman in her 30s, her eggs were probably from a 50 year old. Sue was de-aged in FF 214, but for her true age see the notes to FF292. Lansing's obvious conclusion, not knowing her real age, is that this was cell damage due to the early radiation. But knowing that she is too old, but not wanting to face it, would add to Sue's tragedy.

The nature of Franklin's powers
Finally Sue carried the baby to full term, but this was a different Sue. This illustrates how Franklin's power works: rather than having the magical ability to change anything he simply shunts us into a different dimension where what we want is true. He is like Lockjaw, a dimensional traveler; like the philosopher Crates, "the door opener". This confirms the explanation of cosmic powers in the back up stories to annuals 22 and 23: scale is an illusion. The more powerful beings are not actually more powerful, just different.

Reed and Terminus

There is something very odd about the Terminus story. A number of things don't quite add up. There is nothing serious enough to say "that cannot have happened" but it is odd enough to suggest an alternative hypothesis:

1. The Fantastic Four is always careful to be believable, at least until FF322. but why did nobody in the real world noticed this beam from space, especially as it passed by Manhattan, or (in FF270) the "cosmic cyclone" over the city of Hanover. Maybe everybody was looking the other way, but it pushes plausible deniability to its limit.
2. How can a language be deciphered from so few markings? Or maybe it's just similar to some known universal language?
3. How did Reed have such a convenient and powerful and useful invention, one that he has never used again?  
4. She-Hulk observes that Reed almost looks happy in FF270. She then asks if he can hit Terminus with a planet, and Reed does just that.

It all pushes the FF's normal realism to almost breaking point. But the last point, Reed's happiness, fits a number of coincidences:

1. Reed just came from his greatest disaster, and immediately has his greatest success - defeating somebody like Galactus with almost no effort, because of his latest machine.
2. Sue's body, unable to cope with the radiation, just terminated her baby. We now have a being called Terminus who also uses radiation blood red of course).
3. The tiny good alien (tiny relative to humans) looks like an alien unborn child - huge head, weak body, highly vulnerable. He lives inside a capsule that looks like a pill to cure something medical.
4.  Terminus' limbs are like fixed versions of Dr Octopus' arms, and his body shape is dumpy (albeit on a huge scale) like Otto's, recalling Reed's triumph that turned into defeat.

Remember that Reed reports his stories to Marvel, who publish them. The simplest explanation for all this is that Terminus was real, but much less of a threat, and Reed described the battle in such a way that it restored his reputation. As if he told Marvel "I failed in one way, but look I now succeeded in a much bigger way." The next story after 269-70 continues the aftermath of Reed's failure to ave his child: with a look to his own parents and the question "who is Reed Richards?"

270

Issue 270: Alicia's decision (the solution to all their problems)

This is the issue where Alicia accepts that she can no longer depend on Ben to protect her. So she makes a choice that will finally drive Ben to face his problems, and Ben's additional stress will at last force Reed to question himself, leading to the solution to the crisis of act four. It all starts here.

Alicia: the most powerful human of all.

Here we see Alicia to to the FF what she did to Galactus: she changed history by reaching inside a key person's soul.

One of the major themes of the FF is family: that is, soft power, how relationships are stronger than brute force. We see this in how Sue has always been the strongest character and made things happen. But Alicia, even more gentle than Sue, and in the most important events (Galactus in the 1960s, and the final climax to the 28 year story) she is even more powerful.

In FF49 Alicia defeated Galactus by inspiring the Surfer, thus breaking Galactus' will. Why else did he give up so easily? The Ultimate Nullifier just gave him an excuse: somebody with his power could easily have stopped time, encased Reed's hand in ice, or whatever. Galactus' will is the all. Weakening that will was what defeated him. The surfer was his only friend. Galactus and the surfer were analogs of the traditional avenging Old Testament God and the messiah figure. What he surfer did mattered. it touched Galactus at the heart. And it was all due to Alicia: Alicia to the FF is like Mary to Catholics. The silent power behind the throne.

Here Alicia does something just as significant. By touching Johnny's heart she changes Ben. By changing Ben she changed Reed, and solves the unsolvable crisis (see FF295, the final issue to act 5, where Ben's distress finally breaks down Reed's barriers).

Is Alicia really leaving Ben?

Here is how Alicia describes this momentous event:

Alicia says Johnny has put his finger on the problem. People think Alicia and Ben are married, "But we are not. Not in any sense of the word. We were two people drawn to each other by mutual needs, mutual dependencies... and somehow we've each turned a corner in our lives. Things between us are.. different. Ben and I still love each other. We always will. But somehow I think we've both come to the realization that..." and she will say no more.

Two levels of meaning
Alicia's words can be read on at least two levels. On a short term level readers can say they never deeply loved each other, and move on. There is no need to think of longer term continuity. After all, mutual needs are not a good basis for a relationship, right?

But when we look at the longer term we see something different: Alicia and Ben are meant for each other, and this time out is the only way for them to make the final step to marriage.

Alicia and Ben: destined to be together
What Alicia calls "mutual needs" are the perfect foundation for a relationship: they mean the couple will always be together. Alicia and Ben are also very similar types: both has a barrier between them and others (Ben's appearance, Alicia's blindness and sheltered childhood). Both tends to not share their feelings. Both had a very tough childhood. And they both enjoy each other's company. But their problem is that neither of them took charge. Either of them could have said "it is time to marry, we must do it" and the other would have been talked round.

But they both come from controlling, confidence destroying backgrounds (Alicia's childhood, Ben under Reed), and they both feel very vulnerable (Ben fears he will never be loved, Alicia is blind and vulnerable to the FF's many enemies: she needs Ben). So both were afraid to push. Ironically they each have infinite courage in the face of danger but not the courage to tell the loved one what needs to be said. Not only do Alicia and Ben have mutual needs, they have so much in common and think the same. They were the perfect couple!

In this context, Alicia's words mean they should be married. Because they will always love each other. She says they have both come to a realization. She does not say what it is directly, but we know what it is from Ben: they need time apart. Ben has his time apart on "Battle World". Alicia has that time apart with Johnny. This does not mean they are separating, they are simply taking time away to think. Alicia does not consider marrying Johnny until FF297, after Ben has (in his emotional pain) rejected her again and she gives up hope.

The zeitgeist
The tragedy of marrying the wrong person reflects the changing morals in the 1980s. In previous centuries marrying the wrong person was the end of the story: divorce was impossible. Even in the 1970s divorce was still largely frowned on by the majority of people, most of whom were raised in the 1950s or before. But in the 1980s the world was changing. Most people were raised in the 1960s or later (i.e. born in the mid 50s or later). What was previously a radical approach was becoming mainstream. Most people began to accept the idea that marrying the wrong person, correcting the mistake, and still loving both people is possible, at last as an ideal. And given that Alicia was solving everyone's problems it was never in doubt that they would all love each other afterwards.

Criticisms of this event

Is it creepy that Johnny likes somebody who looks just like his sister?
She looked like Sue in 1962 (eleven years earlier, their time), but probably not quite as much now. Besides, a recurring motif in the book is doppelgangers: they have seen so many people who look exactly like themselves that this would not be a big deal any more.

Is Alicia using Johnny badly?
Taking the "time apart" view, is Alicia treating Johnny badly by agreeing to marry him when her heart is with Ben? No. She works by intuition, not conscious plans. She does not consciously plan to return to Ben. She is sincere. She will let what happens happen: that is her way.

Intuitively she knows this is the best thing for Johnny as well. This leads to Johnny learning how to relate to women and this solves his problems. It also, by solving Ben's problems, leads to the return of Crystal and so eventually everyone will be with their soul mate. (Clearly Alicia and Johnny are not soul mates: compare Johnny with Alicia to Johnny with Crystal, or Alicia with Ben. Johnny's occasional "this is right, I am in love" outbursts only seem designed to persuade himself.)

Perhaps Alicia thought Ben would hear the news and come back, or her father step in and end it - perhaps she could never imagine the marriage would actually happen. But she was following instinct all the time, so when it happened she let it. In doing so she also healed her father (see FF300), so this was win-win all round.

This is also a classic tragedy: the heroine marries the wrong man. This is, after all, the Great American Novel, and what is a great novel without great tragedy?

But Johnny was a womanizer?

After 14 years as the most eligible celebrity in the world, Johnny only had four girlfriends: Dorrie, Crystal, Frankie and Lorrie.

Every one of them dumped him. Frankie, twice.

Did this all happen too quickly?
It wasn't too quick for Johnny: his failure with girls goes right back to the beginning. His frustration goes back almost as far. As a 28 year old heterosexual male he would be desperate, below the surface. He has admired Alicia for at least three years, his time, as we saw in FF160:

As for Alicia's own change of heart, it was gentle, not rushed. Ben's dithering goes back to the start of act four or before. As a sensitive person Alicia would notice this. Her concerns for Ben's emotional problems became particularly prominent in Moench's run. She has now had five months in hospital to think about how Ben left her, and then hears he has abandoned her again. She would also be aware of Johnny's qualities and his frustration.

Finally, this is the tenth anniversary of dating Ben: Alicia is now 29 year old, biologically the same age as Sue (since Sue de-aged by three years in FF214). Sue just lost her baby. That, and facing turning 30 after ten years with a boyfriend who cannot commit, Alicia's biological clock is starting to tick.

Is it fair for Johnny to do this to Ben?
Johnny was badly hurt when Crystal left him. Why would he now do the same thing to Ben? Well, Ben doesn't need Johnny's sympathy. Ben neglected Alicia far more than Johnny neglected Crystal. And Ben is an adult, with more life experience than the emotionally sheltered Johnny. Ben at this point has had plenty of second chances with Alicia. He should have proposed in the 120s when he began to come out of his depression. He definitely should have proposed in the 160s when he planned to do so but always put it off. In FF136 he had a push, and again he could not do it. And now, after abandoning Alicia in 151 and then again after Secret Wars, Ben has used up any good will.

For Johnny to continuing to support Ben while leaving Alicia to be neglected and attacked again would be a far bigger crime. Plus Ben was planning to separate anyway, until Alicia's decision snapped him into soul searching (for him to reject her was business as usual, for her to reject him hurt)

Is this theory contradicted by Ben's actions?
If Alicia and Ben are destined to be together, how does this square with Ben's decision to break up, in FF277?

Ben later said that this slap hurt him more than anything he had ever felt (even though he did not even feel it physically). And it was clear after this that he still loved her, as we saw in FF303:

Clearly Ben was trying to do what he thought was right, because he knew he would never have the courage to propose, because of his inner doubts. But the slap began the process of him facing his demons, which resulted in Ben finally lacking the emotional strength he lacked.

As for Ben's belief that marriage would be "ridiculous", this is explained by FF236: he fears he might hurt her.

This is a major, defining issue for Ben, and why he unconsciously holds back his strength.

Some fans wonder if it's because of sexual problems (again, his fear of hurting her), but there are many kinds of sex. Besides, as any long married couple knows, marriage is more than sex. If sex was important they would not have stayed together, kissing frequently, for ten years: they would have either married or separated long ago.

Ben was planning to dump Alicia? Really?
Ben is a deep, tragic character at this point. Things are not as they seem. A this point ben is on Battleworld, a planet that reflects hi psychology. He's trying to make sense of his life. As part of this he thinks he finds someone to replace Alicia, but of course she dies. Nobody can replace Alicia.

Was Johnny's upbringing really so difficult?

Johnny's need for Alicia depends on his own emotionally fragile state. This can be easily be demonstrated by how easily Sue controls him in Strange Tales, when she is still his legal guardian, with how badly he fares on dates - showing off in an immature way, and with his loyalty despite his frustration over the years: he stayed at high school against his wishes, he stayed in the team despite wanting to leave many times... all he has ever known is being under the control of his sister.


Johnny at this point was 22 years old. He has never been free to be himself.

But Johnny was shallow?

Johnny has such potential. Such depth that's been ignored for so long most fans forget it's even there. Let's see him as Alicia sees him. When Alicia joined the family (FF 8) Johnny was about to begin his Strange Tales career. Yes he was young, but he was incredibly creative, always coming up with new ways to solve problems, and fighting above his weight. And he was a hard worker: practicing for hours each day, flying through intricate mazes, studying weather patterns, finding new uses for his flame. The guy was amazing. Remember the colored flame model made in FF 17? Or how he used his flame to create a tornado that could lift probably thousands of tons at the end of issue 4? That's all down to hard work and dedication. Beyond that he is intensely loyal. Over the years he's been treated as a child, living in the shadow of the others, and had every reason to leave. But he cares for his family. He even gave up his soul mate, Crystal, because he would not leave the family, despite them not appreciating him in the slightest. He has a superb mind, incredible dedication and a pure heart.

Summary

In summary, Alicia is destined to be with Ben, and Johnny is destined to be with Crystal. but in order to get there, they have to solve their problems... together.

For more on this topic, see the notes to FF275.

271

Issue 271: what happened before issue 1

Issue 270 set in motion the events that will take place after the 27 story ends. As the big story approaches its climax we begin to fill in the gaps. We finally see what happened before issue 1.

Reed begins to pay the price
The negative zone adventure was Reed's death wish. In a way he got what he wished for: his mind was removed from his body, and some parts of it were lost forever. Now that he has failed Sue (radiation from the negative zone killed the baby) his death wish comes back to haunt him. Reed has always neglected his family, and now, as karma, he cannot remember his own family, or at least not the details.

Reed and Autism
Why the interest in his mother's eyes? Is that something most people think about? Reed also says he can't remember his mother's eyes. Avoiding eye contact is a classic sign of autism. As an adult he would learn to look at everyone's eyes, but it is likely that as a child his mother's eyes are the only ones he ever looked at. For more evidence of Reed's probably Autism see the notes to FF182.

Why FF1 happened
This issue, the story of Gormuu, finally reveals the gaps in why the spaceflight in FF1 happened:

• Though Sue was motivated by pressing political concerns, to beat the communists, but if that was the only priority, why not trust the government's approach? They wanted to fund the space program more slowly, and divert more money to defense: if communists were really about to take over the world that was surely wise? But Reed's experience with Gormuu taught him that the communists were not the only threat, and space travel had to be a higher priority, just in case.

• Gormuu's abandoned ship provided the essential insights that let Reed get his own space craft design working.

• Gormuu's body was able to absorb energy without it causing harm, so his ship would not worry about shielding from cosmic rays. Perhaps this is why Reed was less concerned about shielding, having seen Gormuu's ship with its thin hull.

• According to the 1998 miniseries "Conspiracy," Gormuu's landing led directly to a government program to create superheroes to protect the Earth. However, 1998 is well past the death of the original Marvel Universe, so we cannot assume continuity.

The history of time travel

FF271 reveals that Nathaniel Richards had a time machine three years before the FF gained their powers: that is, in 1958. By using FF annual 2 and Occam's razor (do not multiply elements: in this case, each discovery only happens once) we can deduce the following timeline.

• Ancient times
  Mankind discovers magic (i.e. super advanced technology) though contact with aliens.
• Medieval period
  Gypsies travel widely in eastern Europe, so will hear of the records of Byzantium and other traditions. Some Gypsies obtain some knowledge of magic.
• 1700s-1800s
  Science develops to such an extent that some people make the link with magic.
• 1920s
  Doom's mother is interested in science and magic. She is killed, which has a profound influence on her son.
• 1930s
  Doom becomes expert in his mother's magic: specializing in intermediate magic - still recognizably mechanical in nature. this is probably the lowest level and therefore easiest to obtain from any demons. it also allows Doom to undertand the physical principles behind it, so he never has to feel he is the slave to someone else. this is very important to Doom who's people have always been oppressed.
• 1940s
  Doom develops his skill sos far that he tries to cross dimensions in order to rescue his mother from Hell. (This leads to the accident that disfigures him, and his hatred of Reed Richards who saw his failure.) Reed will of course have mentioned this to his scientist father, Nathaniel. Nathaniel will have been extremely interested.
• 1950s
  The interest in advanced science, plus the desire to build a dimensional machine, naturally leads to a need to build a time machine. As with all advanced technology, this will include elements from captured alien craft. Any flying saucer will use dimensional tech for faster than light travel, and Doom will of course know this.
• 1957
  
  • Reed gained access to Gormuu's alien ship. Reed was already developing rockets, but such programs take years. This is probably before 1958 (see below) but not too long before because of the urgency mentioned, hence 1957.
  • Gormuu gave Reed access to alien technology. The rocket in 1961 only reached the atmosphere, and Reed says the tech is to advanced to understand, so the 1961 rocket probably did not use any alien tech. However, this is the earliest reference to the phrase "star drive" so it is possible that Reed did try to include it. But his lack of shielding shows that Reed did not understand it well.
  • Meanwhile, Nathaniel, being equally brilliant but older, will have more experience. Presumably he recognized the most important part of a faster than light ship: the dimensional equipment. He will have removed it from the ship.
  • Nathaniel knew that Doom was studying dimensions so probably contacted him for help.
    
  • Soon after that they both developed working time machines, so it is most likely that Gormuu's ship contained two dimensional units. The dimensional unit would be the most advanced and the most crucial part of a star ship, so a traveler cannot risk it being damaged while far from home, so probably large ships had a backup unit. Most likely Nathaniel gave one to Doom in exchange for knowledge of how to use it.
    
  • Possibly Doom made sure that Nathaniel could not get back when he used his machine: if not for Sue's invisibility power Nathaniel could have been trapped an another dimension forever.
• 1958
  Nathaniel used his time machine, leaving Doom with the only viable machine.
• 1958-61
  Doom may have used his time machine to gain access to more advanced technology, allowing him to improve his technological miracles. Normally time travel forbids the bringing back of useful information, but possibly Doom's access to magic (i.e. demons with exotic technology) allowed him to bend those rules. For the limits to time travel see the notes to FF272.
  
• 1962
  
  • Doom used the FF to test his machine (FF5). Doom wanted the "Merlin stones" - some kind of infinity gem to improve his dimensional abilities. Presumably these would allow him to overcome the limitations of time machine, so he could bring back more useful materials.
  • Soon after, Reed gains access to the planet X saucer, allowing him his own dimensional unit, so he can duplicate Doom's time machine.
  • At the same time (between FF6 and FF10) Doom gains access to alien technology via the Ovoids. From this point both sides have alien technology, both sides learn from each others, both sides gain access to more alien technology in later years, and the arms race of super-advanced alien technology is on.
    
• 1963 on
  Both Doom and the FF give the impression that they can invent any kind of technology at any time. That is a useful impression: it scares your enemies! But look closely and they have a very limited set, of technology: sometimes just a single example of each: suggesting that they are using the hardware they got from alien sources, and have not been able to duplicate it. The time machine is the clearest example of this.
  

272

Issue 272: Hamlet sees the ghost of his father

Time travel

1. In FF19, to travel to ancient Egypt, to find a cure for Alicia's blindness
2. In FF152, Reed adjusts the machine to travel "outside" of the time stream in order to also move sideways to Makhismo's parallel dimension. This is the only time it is used for traveling to the future, and even then it is not Earth's future.
3. In FF annual 11, Ben uses it to return to World War II.

1. The fundamental problem
   You do not actually go "there". As Reed notes in FF172, each future is in fact a parallel dimension. This is probably because there are many possible futures, each one created whenever a major decision is made. Probably simply traveling in time is enough to create a parallel future. This limits the usefulness of forward movement: you cannot use it to reliably predict what will happen.
2. The practical problem
   You probably cannot bring back useful information. Useful information can easily create a time paradox. For example, if a scientist was going to make a discovery, and you learned the information first, then the need to make the discovery would not arise.... so the discovery could not be made and you could not discover it.
3. A particular limitation
   You cannot bring back radioactive elements (see FF19). Radioactive decay is the classic example of quantum uncertainty, and is the basis of the "Copenhagen model", the idea in physics that reality is made of multiple dimensions, and a decision simply means a different reality. Since radioactive material cannot travel through time this suggests that quantum uncertainty creates some kind of natural resistance. The more that an event relies on uncertainty, the less it can travel through time. Since every decision involves uncertainty this severely restricts any useful time travel.
   

• FF5, by Dr Doom
  as a master of magic, he attempts to bend the fundamental laws. (The whole point of magic is to bend what appear to be unbendable laws of science, usually by appealing to a higher power or intelligence.) Note that Doom is trying to get mystical stones, no doubt to continue his bending of the rules. Of course, ultimately laws are not broken, we are merely misdirected: just as a time traveler thinks he has traveled in time but has in fact shunted into a different dimension. This is how Franklin and all the most powerful beings do their impossible feats - they shunt us into a different dimension where that is happening. See the pages on Franklin and on cosmic power and the illusion of scale.
• FF19, to the era of Rama Tut
  They are drawn to the person who (we discover in FF274) is in fact Kang, a being closely linked to Doom (he may been be the Doom of an alternate future). So we have Doom's machine being used to reach a descendant of Doom: far from an example of Randomly traveling to the past, this is simply following a channel already created by Doom.  This idea is supported by other Marvel comics: this particular event seems to be a magnet for time travel. FF19 appears several times (in the style of the trilogy movie "back To The Future"): in West Coast Avengers 21-23, Dr Strange 53, Rise of Apocalypse 1-3, etc.
• FF23: a dinosaur appears
  This could in principle have been created some other way, so no laws of causality are broken.
• FF152: Makhismo
  Makhismo is already messing with causality, mixing dimensions at a fundamental level, such that our dimension is about to be destroyed. In FF152 the description of dimensional travel and the picture used both come from FF37, indicating that this is travel through subspace: the Negative Zone, where Franklin got his powers, and Franklin is "the living conduit to the Negative Zone"
  
  
• Annual 11: the Watcher is present, which may indicate more than the time machine is involved. Reed is able to tune into video of alternate realities, indicating that we are really dealing with different dimensions. The problem is finally wrapped up (in Marvel Two in One 20, following from Marvel Two in One annual 1, which immediately follows this FF annual) by ensuring everything is exactly as it would have been had history not changed. Time travel can change nothing. Marvel Two in One 50 and 100 also feature Ben traveling to an alternate dimension on the time machine Any events outside of the main FF title have less concern with realism, and are generally not discussed here. MTIO 100 is significant because of the memorable story: a double sized final issue, following from the equally memorable MTIO 50. The next month saw the first solo issue of The Thing: these first issues show Ben's inner thoughts, and are arguably strongly influenced by seeing what the world was like without him in MTIO 100. It's all worth mentioning, but all of these elements can also be detected in the main FF title (albeit more subtly) so they are not essential to the big story.

273

Issue 273: Reed's father (Reed knows he is not a self made man)

• "A powerful idea, in my view, that JB inserted here, was that human achievement, unhindered by the church would've progressed much faster!" (Flavor Sasha) This issue reflects the increasing secularization of America (at that time: the Christian Right was in the process of reacting to the trend, using reversing it for the next couple of decades).

• This issue was lettered by Byrne. On his forum he freely called it the "Worst. Lettering Ever." Page 11, the back story of the Warlord, was drawn without pencils, straight to ink.

A18

Annual 18: the end of the Kree-Skrull war:
resolving an age-old conflict through cooperation

We are approaching the end of the five act story. All the major subplots approach their conclusion. Perhaps the biggest and most complex subplot is the war between alien empires the Kree and the Skrulls. Obviously this will take some time to settle, so this settling begins early. It will be completed in next year's annual.

Conflict versus cooperation

A major theme of the 28 year story is that cooperation is better than conflict. This is the central truth for any empire, any family, or any nation (such as America: this is the Great American Novel):

• Here we see the beginnings of cooperation between the two empires.
• The first step to neutralizing Doom was his embrace of being loved by Latveria.
  The first step in neutralizing the Mole Man was to cooperate with him in Annual 13.
• This foreshadows how Reed's conflict based approach must eventually give way to Sue's cooperation based approach.

The annual also represents the final calm before the final storm. The remaining issues of act 4 will be unprecedented disaster followed by unprecedented disaster:

1. Franklin bleeds and is trapped in hell
2. Their home is destroyed
3. Sue is mentally raped
4. Johnny's inspiration leads a fan to kill himself
5. But then the resurrection of Phoenix gives a hint that there is a way back.
6. Reed's near death leads him to finally question himself: finally the nightmare is over.

Annual 18 and X-Men 137

Page 1 starts with a banner headline that indicates 10 months passing since X-Men 137, one of the most important comics in the history of Marvel (the death of Phoenix). This is significant for a number of reasons:

1. The big cosmic story

This all links back to F13, the issue where Reed finally reaches the moon and meets higher beings. You don't need to study this deeply to see the links: just look at the art (thanks for the "WaitWhat" podcast for the scans)

2. The zeitgeist

Annual 18 reflects the cold war politics of the time: The USSR was effectively bankrupt and commentators could see the end of the cold war is in sight. They just didn't know if it would be violent or peaceful. The battle between the lone Kree and Skrull warriors began in X-Men 137 where Phoenix died. The conflict begins to be resolved. Phoenix then returns a few weeks later (the time), just as the FF return from the events of annual 19. They then discover that the Phoenix cocoon is giving off some kind of radiation. Is the timing coincidence? Presumably this change on the ages old conflict was felt on some fundamental level through the universe, just as the field that ended the Skrull stretching abilities in annual 19. Why does this matter to the big story? Because this was a major change in comics, reflecting the end of the cold war. The friendship between a Kree and a Skrull warrior reflected the end of the cold war, and so the end of the cultural driving force behind the Great American Novel.

3. The end of the Great American Novel

X-Men 137 is perhaps the best known example of the success of Marvel. It is the key story that launched the X-Men into record breaking sales, making it the keystone of the money-first comics of the 1990s. The success of the Marvel Universe (a by-product of the Fantastic Four) meant comics were profitable. But the greatest short term profit always comes from merchandising. This in turn led to a fear of change. The return of Phoenix was the first sign that time was not merely slowing down  (as it had since the birth of Franklin in 1968) but would completely stop and even go backwards. The return of Phoenix in FF286 was the first break in the dam, and in a few years a flood of resurrections and retcons would mean the death of realism. For the context see the page on the death of the Marvel Universe.

4. Real Time and Marvel Time

X-Men 137 was cover dated Sep 1980, the same as FF222 (the possession of Franklin). This annual takes place just before FF274, cover dated January 1985.  Page one says ten months have passed, so 1980-85 is only 10 months, Marvel Time. This is consistent with the dating suggested elsewhere on this site:

• Year 12: 1977-1980
• Year 13: 1981-86

• FF222-231: about 2 months
• FF231-232: about 1 month. FF251-256 took place in the negative zone, where time may pass at a different rate.
• FF233-250: about 2 months
  
• FF256-274: about 6 months. Sue's pregnancy began in FF256 and she visibly pregnant in FF267. But the first few days or weeks took place in the accelerated time of the Negative Zone.
  
• FF275-299: 3 months, most of that time after 296. The final events of act 4 could happen very quickly indeed, but the slowest event is the building of the new headquarters. Three months for a finished skyscraper may seem ridiculously fast, but consider the pressures on time (the fate of the world depends on the Fantastic Four) and the availability of high technology and the Thing's strength if needed. In 2012 China built a much larger building, the world's tallest skyscraper in just three months: "Sky City, an 838-meter (2,750-ft) building to be built by Chinese construction company Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), of  Broad Group, will not just be the tallest skyscraper on the planet, won’t just be “earthquake-proof,” won’t just implement a sustainable design approach – it will go up in only 90 days." (source)

Next: Alicia saves the day